This post is a call for readers to submit their favorite immortality themed science fiction NOT included on my list below (and even examples they did not care for so I can make this a more substantial resource). I’ll make a page with all the information I receive for easy consultation soon (INDEX of similar pages/articles).

A while back I started gathering a list of titles — via SF Encyclopedia, other online resources, and my own shelves — on immortality themed SF. I have always been intrigued by the social space (one plagued by violence and despair or buoyed by the hope of a better future) that the possibility of immortality might generate.

I would argue that the single best example of social effects that the possibility of immortality might create is Clifford D. Simak’sWhy Call Them Back From Heaven?(1967). In similar fashion, James Gunn’s The Immortals(1962) takes place in a world where immortals do exist, they skirt at the edge of the narrative, but are hunted by mortals for their “sacred” blood. The possibilities (good and bad) if they are caught are endless. Other SF works try to evoke the repetitive nature of existence of the immortal. I generally dislike novels on this aspect of the theme — for example Raymond Z. Gallun’s The Eden Cycle(1974) is often just as tiring as the “ennui of the immortal” he is trying to evoke.

I’ve organized them by publication date (if they are extensive sequences of novels/short stories I’ve listed as a group) and linked the ones I’ve reviewed.

My favorite short story by Gene Wolfe, “The Doctor of Death Island” (1978) is about immortality (among other things.) And it is a real “hard” SF story, about the effect of new technologies on society, as well as a human drama.

That’s too bad about your copy of The Island of Doctor Death and Other Stories and Other Stories; I’m looking forward to hearing what you have to say about Wolfe. It is normal to hear people praise Wolfe to the skies, but there are dissenters, and a lot of people have gripes about particular stories and about particular elements of Wolfe’s work.

I’ve been reading a lot of Wolfe lately (and re-reading – he’s one of those authors that you have to read a second time, often to catch multiple layers of meaning, or to catch what’s going on.) I’d recommend his collection “The Best of Gene Wolfe” to begin.

Given the current wave of science fiction (or wave receding into the ocean, depending on opinion) is being dubbed the Accelerated Age/Singularity Age, I’m surprised there are not more recent titles on the list, post-humanism most often translating to immortality. Ian McDonald’s existential Necroville, which openly states nanotech = immortality, springs immediately to mind. Any of Iain Banks’ Culture novels likewise incorporate the concept to varying degrees. But sticking with the preferred era of your site, your list is very comprehensive. I thought of a few titles, checked, and they were all there. Thus, there seems only to be a shortage amongst contemporary titles, but I’m guessing there is not enough space (or desire) to include all of those titles…

A lack of recent titles on this list…. Definitely, I resorted to my personal knowledge and I generally do not read newer titles. But feel free to add anymore if you come up with them! ‘Tis the point of a list in which I wanted people with more knowledge in different areas to contribute to.

I didn’t catch this one.Anyway,my choices are three by Bob Silverberg,the creepy but eloquent “The Book of Skulls”,”Born With the Dead”,”Sailing to Byzantium”,and Michael’s Moorcock’s “The Dancers at the End of Time”.

Noticeable that there were none listed by Philip K.Dick,whose perplexing stuff commonly dealt with theological themes,and therefore touch on immortality,although of a spiritual nature.”The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch” definitely does,even though it’s about so much more.

I’ve been looking at his themes on the subject on Wikipedia,and was reminded of two of his short stories,”Beyond Lies the Wub”,his first ever published piece,and “Not By It’s Cover”,that both deal with the theme through spiritual transcendence.There’s another one from the 1950s,which I think is better than both of them,”Upon the Dull earth”,that deals with the pitfalls of attempting resurrection.

He returned to the resurrection theme in the 1960s with the novel,”Counter-Clock World”,but this time through strange but apparently natural processes,without human interference.However,the outcome is cyclical,without the apparent benefit of immortality.